Disappointment
by Rosesdancinginmymind
Summary: Zelena tells Regina Cora is disappointed in her. Cora is still alive (with her heart). Regina goes and asks Cora if she is disappointed in her. Cora takes a long time to answer and Regina thinks it's true so storms off. Later Cora finds Regina and says she wasn't a nice person without her heart and now she has it back in she couldn't be more proud of her - prompt from Regina fan


_Zelena told Regina that their mother was disappointed in her. Cora is still alive and now she has got her heart inside her. Regina goes and asks Cora if she is disappointed in her. Cora takes a long time to answer and Regina thinks it's true and she storms off. Later Cora finds Regina and says she wasn't a nice person without her heart and now she has it back in she couldn't be more proud about how nice Regina is - Regina fan._

_Cora has her heart, so does Regina. In this story she protected her heart with magic._

_Thanks for the prompt. Apologies for any mistakes. Hope you enjoy :) _

"She must be so disappointed in you," Zelena says with a grin seeing how the words devastate her newfound sister.

Regina quickly recovers, "She abandoned you," she points out but Zelena shrugs it off before continuing to taunt her. Regina wishes she hadn't grow used to these visits. All they ever do is hurt her and make her doubt her mother. Their relationship since Cora put her heart back has been tense anyway. Zelena has not helped matters.

Finally the other woman leaves with a maniacal smile, "Ta ta sis. Do give dear old Mom a hug from me. That is if she can bear to be near such a disappointment."

Regina waits for her to leave before hurling one of the green apples Zelena brought at her mirror. She watches it smash but feels no satisfaction as the words "she must be so disappointed in you," ring in her ears. In her heart she knows her mother loves her and yet she can't help but be hurt by Zelena's words. Why wouldn't her mother be disappointed? She was a queen but now she is a fallen one. Her son doesn't remember her. Her heart is safe but completely battered. She couldn't stop Pan without losing everything she loved. She barely even survived the fight with Zelena.

_I'm a failure. _

She sighs resting her head in her hands wishing she could stop Zelena's words taunting her so badly. She knows what she needs. She needs the truth, she needs to know how her mother sees her. Her heart aches painfully at the thought of being a disappointment to her mother. Even after all these years she wants to make Cora proud, for her mother to love her and be pleased to call her daughter.

Regina grabs her coat before running out of the house and over to Granny's where her mother is staying. She swipes angrily at the tears in her eyes damning her heart for betraying the mask she's trying to put up.

"Come on Regina. No weakness. You know how she feels about weakness," Regina tells herself quietly. She takes a deep breath doing her best to put her mask back up. With each passing day it gets harder and harder. Thanks to her family, which grows by the day even if it is still incomplete without her son, she's learning to open up her heart without fear.

She pauses before knocking on her mother's door as a memory, previously long forgotten beneath a sea of other memories, comes flooding back to her.

_"You foolish insolent girl" her mother snaps dragging her teenaged daughter off to her room. _

_"Mother I'm sorry. I was just trying to be nice," Regina replies struggling slightly until her mother slaps her forcing her to be still. _

_"Nice," Cora spits the word out as if it were poison, "Nice." She laughs coldly, "Do you know where nice gets you my darling?" she asks holding her trembling daughter's face in her hands. "It gets you nowhere." _

_She throws her daughter on the bed as if tossing a rag doll, "Nice is for the peasants. You are going to be a queen. A queen Regina. Nice." She shakes her head with a chuckle, "How do you expect me to ever be proud of you if you're going to keep acting so weak?" _

Regina thinks of how much she's changed since her days an evil queen. She thinks of how she softened for Henry wanting him to grow up with love and happiness. She thinks of Neverland and how she had to work in a team with Snow and Charming forcing her to be patient, well more patient than she would have been. She thinks of Emma, who trusts her and who believes her and how finally she feels like they can be equal mothers. She thinks of heart, battered and black, but now beginning to grow red. She lets those red spots grow each day and lets the light spots overrule the black. She's letting herself become nice. She shudders at the word remembering how her mother told her it was a weakness to be anything but icy.

Before she can knock on the door it swings open, "Regina," Cora says before she notices her daughter's faraway look, "Are you alright? You've been standing out here for ten minutes."

Regina looks up at her mother trying to keep her tears at bay, "Are you disappointed in me?"

Cora frowns, "What?"

"Zelena, she said you must be so disappointed in me. Are you?"

Her mother pauses closing her eyes as she wishes she could find a way for Zelena to be mad at her without taking it out on her daughter. She knows why Zelena keeps doing this, why she keeps taunting Regina. Zelena knows that hurting Regina hurts Cora. She knows how to manipulate and go after the things people love. For Cora, that's Regina.

_Even with my heart I still end up being the reason for her hurt _she thinks sadly.

The long pause after her question makes Regina stiffen. _It's true. That's why she's not answering. It's true. _She blinks back tears not wanting her mother to see her cry. "Nevermind," she says quietly before storming away from Cora.

"No Regina wait!" Cora calls out knowing what Regina has assumed from her silence. She curses herself for not answering straightaway. The question floored her. Every day Zelena goes round to Regina and needles her about how Cora can't love her or how she must be so let down. None of it is true.

She grabs her coat before shutting the door and running after her daughter. She frowns upon seeing no sign or Regina realising she must have poofed away. Cora sighs before breaking her no magic rule. Normally she tries not to use it but today she needs to get to Regina and fast. She takes a deep breath before channelling her magic and thinking of her daughter. She smiles as the smoke envelops her before transporting her to Regina's mansion.

She shakes her head feeling slightly disoriented after so long without magic before letting her eyes adjust to her new surroundings. The first thing she sees is her daughter crying on the stairs. The sight breaks her heart.

"Regina" she says softly kneeling down in front Regina. Her daughter looks up, "What do you want?" she asks sniffing before trying to wipe away the evidence of her tears.

"Regina honey I know what you thought when I didn't answer but it's not true."

"You didn't answer. It's an easy question mother. Do I disappoint you? Yes or no. Takes two seconds and you said nothing."

Cora sighs before taking her daughter's hands, "Listen to me. I didn't answer because I'm disappointed in you. I didn't answer because I'm annoyed at myself. Even with my heart my actions do nothing but hurt you. I didn't answer because I'm mad that Zelena is taking out her anger at me on you. Don't listen to her."

"Why not? I became exactly what you hate. I'm weak. I'm a failure."

Cora frowns before tipping up her daughter's head, "Hey, hey, you are not a failure Regina."

"Really? Because I couldn't stop Pan without losing what I love most. My son doesn't remember me and would rather hang out with a pirate than his family. I can't do anything to stop whatever it is Zelena is planning. I barely survived that fight with her. How am I not a failure?" she asks angrily.

"Because you're not me."

"What?" Regina asks in confusion.

"Regina without my heart I was a horrible person. I told you so many things which just aren't true. I told you love was weakness and it isn't. Without my heart I tried to teach you that all that mattered was power and I tried to turn you into some cold angry person. It kills me that I nearly succeeded. But I didn't. Regina you are a wonderful person. In spite of me you're a nice, kind, loving and loyal person. You gave me a second chance when I, of all people, did not deserve one. I am so proud of you because of who you've become. I didn't have my heart when I raised you. I do now. I have my heart and I could not be more proud of you. I love you so much Regina and you could never disappoint me."

"Really?" Regina asks hopefully.

"Really," Cora promises with a smile and teary eyes. "You're the one thing that's right. Out of so much bad I couldn't be happier or prouder that something as good as you exists in my life."

A few more tears slip down Regina's cheeks before she hugs her mother tightly. Cora hugs her daughter rubbing soothing circles on Regina's back. "I made a lot of mistakes Regina. Without my heart I was a cruel wicked person and I wish more than anything that I hadn't been. I don't know if you can have faith in me after all that I've done but please believe me when I say I'm proud of you."

Regina smiles against her mother's shoulder before sniffing, "I believe you."

_Thanks for reading :) _


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